


Spice cream for the soul, lads

by nekoking



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 14:58:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16834912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekoking/pseuds/nekoking
Summary: Cinder Fall, the third year star student at Beacon, makes a dangerous friend. Who knows where this strange friendship will lead?and yes im shite at titles this is my first fic let me live :(





	Spice cream for the soul, lads

**Author's Note:**

> sup lads this is my first fic and uhhh i hope to continue it but honestly ive never finished anything in my life so god knows if that'll ever happen lmao 
> 
> For the record, this is a no-Salem AU, so neither she nor her gang will be relevant to this story.
> 
> anyway pls enjoy :^)

Cinder thoughtfully browsed the dust shop, inspecting the price of each crystal. She hadn't an urgent need to restock, as Beacon tended to offer just enough of the stuff to the students, but she also didn't have anything else to do that day.

She was by herself – sometimes she would bring her friend and team mate Emerald with her, but other times she preferred to have some alone time. It wasn't as though she disliked Emerald's presence, but there were always days when Cinder just wanted to relieve the stress she tended to build up over the course of the semester.

She frowned at the price of a small gravity dust crystal. The man at the till who had been watching her intently – and somewhat eagerly – didn't miss her disbelief.

“Trust me, miss, I completely understand that look, but the value of dust has sky-rocketed thanks to all those dust robberies in Vale.” He expression became one of dejection. “It's really affectin' the business...”

“So I've heard.”

Cinder grimaced when he looked up at her with big, pleading eyes. She resisted the urge to roll her own. Oh for the love of- if he thought that was going to work on her, he had another thing coming!

“Thanks a million, miss! I owe ya! Well, something that preferably isn't dust, but ya know...”

Cinder exited the shop with a small box containing her purchase. She had ended up grabbing a small fire dust crystal that was at the least a reasonable price.

Looks like he didn't have another thing coming.

With a scowl, she pocketed the box and stalked away from the shop. She cursed herself for being so easily swayed – it wasn't common for her to feel guilty for things that wasn't her fault, but when people expect things from her, she can't control her need to deliver on them.

People expected her to be a great leader. They expected her to have good grades. People expected her to be the best student she could be. And so she was.

Of course, she wasn't a robot. She couldn't devote so much time to Beacon without a break every once in a while – she learned that the hard way back when she was in Haven... which didn't end very well.

It was something she preferred not to think about, and definitely something she would rather not dwell on during her personal day off.

While the event at the dust shop was kind of irritating, at least she had actually bought something useful. She was somewhat stingy her Lien sometimes, and so generally ended up buying next to nothing for herself.

She checked her scroll; it was evening. The sky was dark and yet Cinder had barely done anything. Finishing her homework that morning had taken longer than expected leading her to only get to town by afternoon. She gave an exasperated sigh.

She generally returned to the academy by then, but she really wanted to spend a bit more time out. At least she wasn't wearing her uniform, so anyone who didn't know her wouldn't call her out for it.

She strolled through the streets, perusing the various shops. She had wanted to stay out, but she didn't really have a plan on where to go. Maybe she'd visit more dust shops..?

Well, with the robberies, that was most likely a terrible idea, and so she opted to get a coffee. After residing in Vale for a year now, she knew there was a peaceful coffee shop near her current location.

Cinder took a shortcut; a short venture through several alleys. It occurred to her then that perhaps her team would be wondering where she was, and so reached for scroll. Her hand hadn't even reached her pocket when something barrelled directly into her, knocking her down heavily onto her back. She hit her head off the pavement.

The universe must have decided that it hated her that day because, really, this was becoming ridiculous.

When Cinder groggily looked at what exactly was on top of her, it was smaller than expected. That is to say, _she_ was a petite girl around her own age who likewise was trying to retrieve her bearings.

The girl rolled off Cinder, allowing the amber eyed girl to sit up. She rubbed the back of her head to find a small bump and grumbled in annoyance. She stood up and held out a hand to the girl. Annoyed as she was, she was still a huntress who needed to be kind to civilians.

“Are you alright? You were in quite a rush.” The girl glanced the direction she had ran from and took Cinder's hand. With a quick, strong movement, Cinder pulled her to her feet. She was almost a foot taller than the girl with tri-coloured hair, but she was quick to notice that her eyes were different colours – one brown, the other a pale pink. She wasn't sure why, but this intrigued Cinder.

Her head snapped to look behind her when she heard angry shouting not so far into the distance, along with the sudden eruption of an alarm bell. While she couldn't be sure, Cinder predicted it to be a robbery.

Drat, she thought, had there been a dust shop near the café? Whatever the case was, she had to escort this girl out of danger, especially as she only had a parasol on her person.

“Please, come with me. I believe there's been a break-in in this area, so we should go somewhere safer.” Her voice was calm and reassuring, as usual. It was important for a huntress to remain composed and confident when dealing with civilians.

For a second, the girl simply narrowed her eyes, as though suspicious. Then suddenly it was replaced by earnest nodding, and she squeezed Cinder's hand.

Oh dear, Cinder hadn't let go of her hand yet.

“Oh, sorry.” Somewhat embarrassed, the student let go.

Nonetheless, she lead her companion out of the alleyway at a fast pace. She re-traced the steps she took from the city centre; the girl would surely be much safer once among the crowds.

The shouting was growing in volume, though – Cinder was forced to change up the route. She didn't have her weapons with her; it was generally frowned upon to carry two big swords around in public, but this meant that she would only have her hand-to-hand combat skills on hand, pun not intended. A fight would not be ideal.

She took a turn, away from the noise, becoming increasingly on guard. The girl seemed to be in similar spirits, glancing to look behind herself.

A few minutes passed until the student was sure they were so close to their destination. She had only reach the end of the current path and take a turn and then-

A rugged man dressed in a black suit emerged from end of the alleyway and let out what sounded like a snarl when he noticed the girls at the opposite end.

“You stupid _brat_! There you are!” He barked, furious.

Several other similar men appeared at his sides, alerted by his yelling.

Shit, thought Cinder. They had a bone to pick with her companion, and it there were far too many to fight by herself. Two of them, yes, but five? Even she had her limits without her swords; it was possible to scrape by, but it would be very, very difficult, and frankly Cinder wasn't too keen on getting injured on a weekend. She eyed the girl, whose own eyes were narrowed at the men.

The huntress-in-training thought of only one solution to this dilemma. She made sure the men did not carry any fire arms – they had only their fists, it seemed.

She chucked the dust crystal at their feet and sprinted as fast as she could back out the way they came as it exploded in flames, once again choosing an alternate route, ignoring the cries of pain and surprise at the sudden inferno. They were powerless to stop the duo.

The two finally emerged into the main square, but it was emptier than usual. The people most likely didn't want to stick around with a break in so close.

Although they had reached their destination, Cinder didn't feel that comfortable. Those men were still quite close, and wouldn't be distracted for long. She continued walking towards a busier part of town.

“We're not in the clear yet, I'm afraid,” she said, turning her head to face the girl, who gave a small nod. Oh..

“My name is Cinder, by the way. May I ask what your name is?”

The girl's eyebrows raised, then furrowed in thought for a second. She nodded, and took out her scroll, leading to some confusion for Cinder. She typed a few letters and held the device in front of Cinder's face.

_Neo_.

Cinder gave a small smile, putting two and two together. “Its nice to meet you, Neo.” Obviously if Neo could speak, she would have.

Neo nodded at her with a grin. _Likewise_.

They walked in silence for a while. There was a larger crowd now– groups of friends and families on a night out together. It made it much easier to blend in. She beckoned Neo with a small wave of her hand, and they ducked into a nice shop where they can sit down and wait for a bit.

They took a seat far enough from the window that they couldn't easily be seen from outside, but close enough that Cinder could keep an eye for any men in black suits. They both ordered drinks – Cinder finally got her coffee while Neo, interestingly enough, received a milkshake.

Cinder glanced at Neo, who didn't seem too concerned despite the circumstances. In fact, upon closer inspection, she didn't seem as frail as she had first pegged her to be – she was fit with a build akin to that of a dancer. No doubt that she was agile. It'd be likely she would be able to hold her own in a fight...

She was pulled from her thoughts when a scroll was once again placed in front of her.

_My eyes are up here. ; )_

Good grief, Cinder was really keen on digging her own grave that day. She sat up straight and lightly scratched her hot cheek, ignoring Neo's smirk.

“Sorry, th-that wasn't my intention. I was just wondering why those men were after you.” Neo's expression faded and she simply shrugged.

Cinder couldn't the suppress the spike of irritation within her. She was obviously lying. It seemed her feelings became apparent on her face, as Neo gave an exasperated sigh. She began to type.

_Seriously, its nothing. They think I took something from them, but they're just dumb!_

Cinder stared hard at Neo for a moment more. “Fine.” she grumbled, leaning back in her chair. There was more to the story than what her companion was choosing to tell her, and the lack of honesty was annoying.

Noticing that Cinder was still not entirely satisfied, Neo decided to do some damage control.

_I'm very grateful for your help back there, though. Using that dust crystal as a bomb was awesome._

Cinder looked at her with amber eyes – while the praise pleased her, she knew Neo was just trying to get on her good side. Yet, she still gave a small self-satisfied grin – staying angry and suspicious was draining.

“Yes, that was quite exhilarating.”

They then began to chat idly, none of them speaking of personal affairs; just general things. Cinder actually found it to be.. nice.

While a small part of her wanted Neo to know of all her achievements and be in awe, for the most part she liked the anonymity between each other. Neo had no expectations of her. She didn't know her as the star student, or the team leader. She was just a random girl.

Unfortunately, their comfortable exchange could not last forever. Cinder's scrolled pinged. A message from Emerald -

_hey ur out rly late, u ok?_

Cinder felt almost dejected when she became aware of the time.

_Yeah, sorry, just lost track of time. I'll be back in a bit._

_Kk fyi merc wants dinner lol so you might want get here soon before he drags us to the cafeteria w/o u haha_

She looked up from her scroll and faced Neo.

“I'm sorry, but I have to go. Again, it was a pleasure meeting you.” She was about to smile when Neo suddenly stood up and swiped Cinder's scroll. Cinder did nothing but stare with wide eyes as Neo swiftly typed something. She handed it back to Cinder with a wink. Neo's number was in her contacts now.

Her face felt hot again yet she managed to keep a neutral expression.

The girl offered her own scroll to the student, who got the message and entered her own number.

They paid for their drinks and exited the shop. “Will you be alright?” Cinder asked, still a bit concerned. Neo nodded with confidence.

_I'm stronger than I look!_

Exactly how much stronger? thought Cinder, a small nagging suspicion arising, but said nothing.

“Well, maybe I'll see you around, Neo. Farewell.” They parted ways. Cinder faltered when her scroll pinged. A message from Neo.

_I'm sure we will. : )_

She looked back, but Neo wasn't there anymore.

* * *

Neo strolled into the warehouse, quite content with how her evening had gone. A mission success, unnecessary but welcomed assistance along with a pretty lady to boot. How lucky she had been!

She skipped to her employer and good friend and waved.

“It's about time you showed up, Skippy.” Roman Torchwick crossed his arms and studied her face. She smirked.

_I think I'm allowed to have a little time to myself after being the perfect decoy!_ She signed. Roman snorted. “Yeah yeah, whatever. No need to be so proud for just doing your job.” He gestured to the several big boxes lower employees were transporting. “We did pretty well for ourselves – just imagine it Neo; once we start selling all this dust, we're gonna be rich!”

Neo jumped up and down with glee. She did imagine it. She imagined herself buying glamorous clothes, a mansion – maybe even taking that girl out for more then just a cheap drink. What a life!

“We'll wait a few weeks until our next heist. Security's going to be kicked up another notch with every score, so lay low until then.” He shot her a glare. “And I mean it this time. If I catch you starting fights with street rats again I'll swear-”

Neo raised her hands as if to defend herself from his words, shaking her head. _I swear_ , she signed, _no unneeded shenanigans this time!_

Roman clicked his tongue. “You better not,” he grumbled, “I don't want anything ruining this.” He stalked off and began reprimanding some of his goons for no good reason. It was his method of stress relief.

Neo went on her own way, to her fancy hotel room. She happily wondered if she would ever see that pretty girl again.

**Author's Note:**

> And there we have it, a studious hard working Cinder meets a flirty, conniving Neo. Due to being raised in different circumstances than canon, this Cinder is a bit different personality-wise. :^) 
> 
> i've always liked this ship, but volume 6 chapter 5 kind of reignited my love for it lol  
> In the context of the show I can never see this ship happening so this is just me being self indulgent tbh
> 
> anyway uhhh if you enjoyed it pls comment! :)


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